Happy Sunday

Dear Friends,

We recently visited a local nursery to buy a few marigolds for Tasha's flower bed, and were treated to the aromatherapy of soil and flowers.

Audrey shot these photos while we were there, to help us remember the day.

If I were ever tempted to work outside the home (not having my own greenhouse), I think that I could be quite happy working here all day, amongst the growing things!

But then again, there aren't hop toads there at the nursery like there are in our own backyard!

I hope that you have had a wonderful weekend, and are enjoying a restful Sabbath day.

Love,

Marqueta

Cloud Watching

 Dear Friends,

Lately we've had some gorgeous skies that have made us "ooh!" and "aah!" and grab for the camera. Last night's sky was especially amazing, and we took a walk to get to the area down the street that has the best view.

 

Of course while we walked, we noticed the beautiful display of colour being put on by the dandelions and other wildlings (some call them weeds!).

When the walk was over, our hearts were overjoyed to see the daffodils that planted last year, finally fulfilling the measure of their creation and blooming beautifully in the front yard.

 Our rose geranium has faithfully stayed alive in our kitchen window all winter, and she is finally enjoying much-needed fresh air and sunshine.It's the little things that make our hearts sing!

Love,

Marqueta

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Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

~William Wordsworth

Springtime is Busy Time!

Dear Friends,

I've just taken the ducklings out for some fresh air in their makeshift pen that the children and I threw together the other day. Ducks grow really fast, and get really stinky in the house, so any day it's nice enough for them to be outside is wonderful! :)

One of our little chicks died on Easter Sunday, making the day bitter sweet, but also giving a lesson of hope for the resurrection.

We have been eating lots of wild greens (some call them weeds) from our yard and neighboring woods, and seeking to incorporate as many of them into our daily meals as possible. I have been also juicing them by running them through the blender with water, lemon juice, and powdered stevia and cinnamon, and then straining. It actually tastes pretty good, and gives a noticeable energy boost. Every year by the end of winter my body starts to drag and feel sluggish, and I crave greens very much. It's such a blessing when the first dandelions peek out of the earth, and seem to say, "Here we are to help you feel better!"

This is a "green smoothie" that Audrey artfully sprinkled bee pollen on for a garnish~

Japanese food is something we've been playing with lately, since I believe that their traditional diet teaches us a lot how we should eat (lots of veggies and wild greens, fermented foods, and sea weeds, with small amounts of meat). I ordered a sushi mold from eBay, and here Audrey is having fun styling our lunch for the day. The mold makes flower, heart, triangle, and square shapes, in almost-bite sized portions.

(Tasha seems pretty excited, too!)

The yard has lots of work waiting to be done, including moving that huge pile of wood chips that we got from a tree-trimming company, plus removing all the goldenrod and black raspberry canes that have taken over the garden, and starting over with fresh beds. With lots of rain and thunderstorms happening, and not being able to get out and work, things can get away from us pretty quickly!

The King of "Bunker Hill"

We also are in the middle of a chicken-coop building project that was supposed to be completed last year, but is still only a base and a pile of lumber (we'll share pictures when it looks nicer). Hopefully we get it done before the new chickens need it!

Contemplating on a rainy day~

 When I need a rest from working (or when it's raining), I get out my well-loved gardening books and dream of that perfect garden that I'll have "some day." Like Louisa May Alcott said, "Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."

Soon the crazy-busyness of spring will pass, and summer's sultry days will bring a time of maintenance and eventually harvest. May I pause long enough to count my blessings, and take time to enjoy the little things each day. A busy life with children and home is the best kind of busy I can imagine, and I know that I am truly blessed.

Love,

Marqueta

Happy Easter

 Dear Friends,

Here's wishing you a joy-filled day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

We've added some sweet Pekin ducklings and Bantam chicks to our menagerie, who bring with them a lot of work, but also lots more to love! We're excited to see what they look like when they're grown up (Lord willing and they all make it!). One is a little Silkie with extra toes and feathers on her feet.

Hyrum has certainly been enjoying the days when it's nice enough to play outside~ It's rough being cooped up all winter when you're a toddler! Audrey took these adorable pictures of him the other day.

 

In His Love, 

 Marqueta 

The Head that Once was Crowned with Thorns

The Head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor's brow.

The highest place that heaven affords
Is His, is His by right,
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
And heaven's eternal Light;

The Joy of all who dwell above,
The Joy of all below
To whom He manifests His love
And grants His name to know.

To them the cross, with all its shame,
With all its grace, is given;
Their name an everlasting name,
Their joy the joy of heaven.

They suffer with their Lord below,
They reign with Him above,
Their profit and their joy to know
The mystery of His love.

The cross He bore is life and health,
Though shame and death to Him:
His people's hope, His people's wealth,
Their everlasting theme.

~Thomas Kelly

Joyeux Anniversaire, Frankie!

Dear friends,

On Saturday last Frankie celebrated his eighth birthday. He was a good big brother and made sure to share the fun with Hyrum!

"Toad in the Hole" was the requested birthday breakfast. We made it a little more nutritious (and tasty) by adding sheets of nori.

His latest love is the solar system, so we decorated the parlour (a.k.a. living room) with stars and planets, and Audrey made a mini-solar system for his cake.

He seems to approve!

 As this sign attests, Frankie did indeed have a stellar day.

Blessings to you all,

Marqueta

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If—

By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!